Breasts and Eggs

“The thing about hyaluronic acid is that your body sucks it up and then it’s gone.” She pursed her lips. “For 800,000 yen? No thanks. You’re right, though. It doesn’t leave any scars. It doesn’t even hurt. Honestly, it would be the best thing ever, if it lasted. It’s more for models or celebrities. For those big moments when they need a little extr

Plus, being at school drains me. It’s stupid. It’s all stupid. But it’s stupid to write it’s stupid. At least everything at school just kind of happens. That’s not at all how things work at home. They’re like two different worlds. Writing is the best. You can do it anywhere, as long as you have a pen and paper. It’s free, too. And you can write wha

When I saw her with all her makeup off, I felt a little better. On the platform, I felt like I wasn’t even seeing my own sister. What a relief. I’d thought she was a walking skeleton, but she wasn’t half as skinny as I’d thought. She’d worn the wrong foundation, and way too much of it. No wonder she looked pale. Maybe she hadn’t really changed that

absurdly smoky motsuyaki restaurants,

One thing I remember is lying to the factory about my age every vacation, spring, summer and winter, all three years of middle school. The soldering irons hanging from the ceiling, and the hiss of sparks. Huge heaps of folded cardboard boxes. Most of what I remember from back then is from the bar. A little place run by a friend of my mum. Mum worke

The plan was to meet outside the north exit of the Marunouchi Line in Tokyo Station on August 20th—today—at 12:30 P.M.

Midoriko had not spoken to her mother in over half a year. I had no idea why. One day, Makiko said something to her, and she didn’t answer. That was it. At first she thought Midoriko was depressed, but that didn’t seem to be the case. She had a healthy appetite, went to school, and talked like normal with her friends and teachers. Just not with her

It feels like I’m trapped inside my body. It decides when I get hungry, and when I’ll get my period. From birth to death, you have to keep eating and making money just to stay alive. I see what working every night does to my mum. It takes it out of her. But what’s it all for? Life is hard enough with just one body. Why would anyone ever want to mak

I mean, 1,500,000 yen is serious cash. Hard to fathom. Neither of us had that kind of money. It didn’t even sound like a real number. She said 1,500,000 like it was nothing, but I worried that the way I’d said it made it sound like it was too much for her breasts—I’d asked her “Are you really worth that much? Are your breasts worth that kind of an